Wordperfect Office -The Workspace Manager

Word users: The Workspace Manager gives you an easy way to switch to Microsoft Word keyboards, menus, and toolbars. There is no change in the way a document is put together. WordPerfect users: The Workspace Manager lets you quickly switch between the regular interface, 5.1 classic mode, and the legal mode (which is basically activating the legal tools).

Using the Workspace Manager

Since the introduction of WordPerfect for Windows with version 5.1, users have clamored to get back the blue screen with white text so familiar in WordPerfect for DOS. Other users, new to WordPerfect, want instead to see menus and buttons that are familiar to them.

First introduced in WordPerfect 12, the Workspace Manager enables you to quickly and easily customize WordPerfect's look, including menus, buttons, and screen colors.

This is the same dialog box that appears by default when you first start WordPerfect. If don't want to be bothered by the Workspace Manager upon startup, just uncheck the Show at Startup check box.

Caution

Changing the workspace does not change how WordPerfect features work. Further, if you inadvertently change the workspace, you might find it difficult to locate and use features you're already familiar with.

Working in the Microsoft Word Mode

The primary reason for switching to the Microsoft Word mode is to make it easier to find features that are similar in both programs, but that are located differently on menus or toolbars in each program.

If you choose Microsoft Word mode from the Workspace Manager, WordPerfect displays differently organized menus and toolbars, a PerfectExpert box to assist you, and a floating Compatibility toolbar.

The three most significant features in this mode are

Menus: Although WordPerfect's features function the same as always, the location of the menu items required to select certain features have been moved to reflect their location on Word menus. For example, in WordPerfect, the Outline/Bullets & Numbering feature is located under the Insert menu. In Word, it's called Bullets and Numbering, and it's located under the Format menu. In Word mode, WordPerfect uses its own feature name, Outline/Bullets & Numbers, but you'll find it under the Format menu.

PerfectExpert: Targeted to those not very familiar with WordPerfect, the PerfectExpert dialog box guides you through the basic elements of creating, editing, formatting, and finishing a WordPerfect document.

Compatibility Toolbar: The buttons on this floating toolbar help you quickly convert documents to or from Word, to PDF, XML, or HTML, and to access specific help about WordPerfect for Word users.

The Microsoft Word mode is intended for the most part as a transition tool until one becomes more familiar with WordPerfect's features. For example, quite likely you'll soon close the PerfectExpert dialog box. However, you might still want to use Word-type menus or toolbars until you become more familiar with how WordPerfect does things.

Switching to 5.1 Classic Mode

Starting with WordPerfect 11, you have the option of working in WordPerfect "Classic" mode, which emulates to a certain degree the workspace of a WordPerfect 5.1 document. You switch to this mode by choosing Tools, Workspace Manager, and selecting WordPerfect Classic Mode (version 5.1), shown below.

The primary characteristics of this mode include the following:

A blue background, with white text and guidelines.

The absence of toolbars, rulers, or horizontal scroll bars, which also provides more workspace.

The use of version 5.1's keystrokes, including F3 for the Help key, F7 to exit, Shift+F7 to print, and so on. Many feel that a more keyboard-based approach to word processing is faster and more efficient.

A few features long since absent in Windows versions of WordPerfect, such as Undelete (F1), become available.

If you like the clean screen and blue background, you can customize the classic workspace. For example, you can:

Add toolbars by choosing View, Toolbars, and selecting those you want to see.

Add the Ruler by choosing View, Ruler.

Change back to the WordPerfect keyboard by choosing Tools, Settings, Customize, and then clicking the Keyboards tab and selecting the WPWin Keyboard.

For detailed information on the keystrokes and features of the Classic mode, choose Help, Help Topics, click the Index tab, and type classic mode.

Changing to the Legal Mode

The Legal workspace is more like WordPerfect than the Word or Classic modes. All that really happens when you choose Tools, Workspace, Legal Mode is that WordPerfect displays an additional Legal toolbar.

All the features made available through the Legal toolbar are also available in the menus or elsewhere in WordPerfect. However, the buttons on this toolbar make it easier to access those features you'll likely need as you prepare legal documents.

Details for using these features can be found in various chapters throughout this book. For example, Chapter 12, "Adding Graphics to Your Document," covers graphic lines, and Chapter 7, "Formatting Lines and Paragraphs," describes the use of line spacing and paragraph formatting.